CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA -- My oven had a bright light with sparks coming off element. Immediately I turned off the oven. The fire did not go out after turning the control to off. I had to pull oven out and unplug before it would go out. I am disappointed. Glad I was near the oven when this took place. This oven should have a recall. I saw so many reviews for the same issue.

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GE Electric Dryer Control board catches fire

By mckrb - 03/23/2011

NEW YORK -- DPSB620EC4CC - After 5 years and 8 service calls, the control board catches fire. We have replaced this board previously under GE Appliances service plan in 2008. In 2011, the same control board catches fire 5 weeks out of warranty. After sending pictures of the damage which clearly shows that the control board does not meet UL safety requirements and the fuse not blown, GE will not do anything but offer a replacement board at a discount or a $75 gift card. If you have this model PLEASE CONSIDER REPLACING BEFORE THIS CAUSES A FIRE IN YOUR HOME!!

I will never purchase another major appliance from GE. The pictures taken of this catastrophic burning of the control board is being sent to Underwriters Laboratory for their evaluation. GE does not take this seriously. There should be a recall of this model.

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Good Customer Service, with Help from Home Depot

By Venice09 - 03/22/2012

Rating: 5/51

Maybe it's something in the water, but we have had to replace our water heater more times than we can remember, all while under warranty and all from Home Depot. The last time the replacement brand was out of stock so Home Depot gave us a General Electric unit with an eight year warranty. Lo and behold, it started leaking yesterday, after only three years of use.

My husband contacted GE, and after providing some basic information and doing some simple troubleshooting, it was determined that the unit would be replaced. No excuses, no weaseling, no mind games. Just an authorization for replacement. So, off to Home Depot he went with the old tank and back he came with a new one. The overall process was fairly smooth, with only a few glitches that were quickly resolved.

This is the way customer service should work. General Electric and Home Depot together turned what could have been an expensive and inconvenient ordeal into a painless process. Now if we could just figure out why we go through so many water heaters!

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New 2012 Washing Machine

By Janina - 05/21/2012

Rating: 2/51

NAPLES, FLORIDA -- I purchased a brand new washing machine by General Electric, however my understanding is that all brands are doing the same thing so the spotlight is not entirely on GE. Top loading washer - nice large tub, however the tall agitator had dwarfed. To that, I figured a revision was warranted after some testing had concluded that a tall agitator did not help to get the clothes clean. Wrong!!! You can't test these machines out in the store - once it's home and it's hooked up - you are saying to yourself, "where is the water?" I put 3 bath towels in the machine - had intentions of doing a large load. The agitator barely moved, but that's not the worst.

When I opened the top lid - - there was only about 2 inches of water in this large tub. That's it - that's all you get. The tub is huge - so it allows you to believe that it's designed to accommodate a large load - but there is no water. The items were literally sticking up in the air - out of the water - as the lid says, "this is normal." How can anything get clean, if it can't get into the soapy water??? How can the load be submerged into the soapy water - if there isn't any??? What's more - there is nothing you can do to override this machine's decision NOT to give you any more water. I spoke with GE about this, they said that the EPA is in control of this. Something has to be done.

I've now brought my old washer back into the house which I had sent to the garage - I'm now treating it with kid gloves - will not give it away - I'll get it repaired until I can no longer do so. It fills up to the brim - washes clothing with the tall agitator - it's "golden" to me now. I had no idea that the new washing machines (top loading) had been so severely redesigned and not for the better in terms of washing and getting items clean.

It doesn't even truly save water - because people will end up doing more loads of laundry (several small loads) which can be immersed into the water - which causes more electricity for certain and eventually more water. Who wants to have to wash one king fitted sheet in one load, then wash the king flat sheet in yet another load - this could take all day, ridiculous. We're going back in time to where I'll be forced to wash the sheets in the bath-tub by hand.

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GE Refrigerator Review / Complaint: Warranty not Honored

By t - 11/13/2011

FT LAUDERALE, FLORIDA -- It has been only two months since I have begun using my new GE Refrigerator Model PFCS1RKZA SS (Bottom Freezer Style) for which I paid approximately $2500. There is an annoying noise which can be heard from everywhere inside the house – the refrigerator emits the noise constantly and it seems to be coming from the motor-fan. I called GE to get it serviced through the warranty; however upon arrival the technician told me that "the noise is normal". I disagreed with because my son has the same model which does not make this noise. He confessed that he has never replaced that type of motor; that it was very complicated and it would take a lot of time and effort.

Then I asked him: ‘Do you mean I have to live with this noise?' – The technician promptly shrugged and left, which honestly upsets me. I later requested another service appointment to resolve the problem, but instead I got a phone call from the # 1.800.491.2737, a person that identified himself as a GE Engineer who “was trained by the same people who designed that refrigerator”. He told me that there was no problem with my refrigerator, and that if I wanted to get it serviced, he would have to bill me $79 for the second visit. So I asked him: ‘Why would I be billed $79 if you guys have not fixed the noise coming from my refrigerator and you say you will not fix it?'

He responded that he would then cancel the service appointment: So he did. Then I set another appointment through GE's website and was visited by another technician from the same repairing department. When he came into my house I noticed that he had a bit of an attitude problem: He was discourteous and aggressive. He only opened the refrigerator for what seemed like 2 seconds and told me that there was nothing wrong with it and then left without further instruction or explanation. In my opinion he didn't try to listen for the noise and was most likely already told that there was "no issue" so he did not look for one.

The same GE “engineer” called me later that day to inform that I was billed $79 dollar for the second servicing. I honestly rather they honor my warranty and fix the annoying buzzing sound that is coming from my refrigerator than I have to sit here and write these sort of reviews for the GE Appliance Service Department in Fort Lauderdale. However since they refuse to help me I find that this is the most effective way of warning other people about their quality of service. I recommend to anyone that would be serviced by this department to buy from a different brand.

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Warranty and Customer Service issues

By Scrappy Doo - 02/19/2011

Think twice before you purchase anything from GE. Please find below what we've experienced these past 2+ months and still, we haven't got it resolved yet. Our fridge started acting up since Dec 13, 2010 (not even 2 years after purchased date). Because it is still under the warranty, we called for service. First scheduled on Dec 17 - couldn't find the address; technician was given wrong address by GE rep. Dec 22 - changed motherboard, compressor not running, try to fix.. Still not working.

Between 12/22 to 12/29 - changed motherboard again, still not working. Dec 29 - installed inverter, no cool; still not working. Jan 4 - installed new diverter; waited for 24 hrs.. it finally starts cooling, and it was not working the next 24 hrs. Called and file complaint. Requested to wait for another 24 hrs. Finally, on Jan 7th, the fridge works as what it's supposed to be.

Jan 31 - fridge was not cooling. Feb 1 - called for service, request to send us new fridge; customer service insisted to fix the fridge again (RIDICULOUS!!!). Feb 3 - the earliest date tech. could come out to fix. Tech. didn't have part, ordered and reschedule to fix as soon as the part delivered.

Feb 4 - part was delivered in late afternoon. Feb 7 - called to schedule for service - the earliest date would be Wed 2/9. Feb 9 - received service, fridge back up and running.. for the next 10 days. Feb 19 - fridge was not cooling (I believe it started last night, all food was warm this morning and we had to throw them all away, again.

They have had many opportunities to fix the problem with my refrigerator, and at this point it seems that it is unfixable. Although they are paying for the repair bills for the refrigerator, this still costs me with my time (I've been put on hold while dealing with GE representative / left message and waited for them to call me back, etc.,), lost wages (every time we scheduled for service, we lose at least half day if not full day of work), food spoilage and the added cost of buying prepared foods to eat, not to mention the possibility of food-borne illnesses from improper refrigeration.

The refrigerator needs to be replaced. It is a lemon. Apparently, agent cannot authorize this transaction, however, I am sure that someone within the firm can. Unfortunately, every time I asked who they're reporting to, or if I could call someone else, the agent would never provide me with the info... Somehow, I really like their job.. They can screwed up, being rude, and do whatever they want, and we can't even report their behaviors to anyone!

We have reported this issues to Better Business Bureau and we will seek further legal remedies / bring this matter to small claims court in our area. Do yourself a favor.. DO NOT buy anything from GE. That's my3cents to you.

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GE Junk peddlers

By gejunk - 11/05/2010

I agree about new GE crap. Not worth the risk unless you like having to replace it within a few years or less. Example: GE mini fluorescent under cabinet lighting bulb No. "GE F 21T5" in fixture "GE Order Code: UCF36/EBL", in which the bulb which is guaranteed on the packaging to last 9 years but only lasts 2-3 months. The fixture will no longer light a new bulb, only the bulb ends light slightly. GE's website "gelighting.com" does not recognize their own part number and will not allow email to be sent to them without a part number.

The 800-435-4448 customer assistance number put me on hold for 20 minutes then after explaining the problem and symptoms (with the bulb and fixture part numbers) to the customer service guy was told "Are you saying you can't buy a new bulb." I had just explained that I had two new bulbs in front of me and neither would light except for the ends. He said "GE still manufactures the bulbs". I repeated that I had two new bulbs in front of me and that neither light up. He said "You need another department, I only do light bulbs". He said "I will transfer you to the right department".

The person who answered at the next department (after I had explained the problem) said "You need a different department, we only do industrial and hazardous large commercial equipment and lighting". He then said "I might be able to find a number you can call". Home Depot where the fixture was purchased told me to call GE and that they will make it right, but don't bring it to us. That was when I was there to find a new bulb (which made two) to see if the previous one was bad.

To sum it up GE puts out inferior products from outsourced suppliers and will not act on their advertised guarantees. GE employees speak poor English, are unhelpful and in general don't know their '**' from a hole in the ground. I'm done with GE products (think China), so I won't tell the very lengthy story about my GE Profile range, it's a blood pressure thing. Buy American made, that means actually manufactured in the US.

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Exploding glass stove door

By Pheesao - 06/14/2010

I bought a GE glass top stove a year ago. I loved this thing. It did everything I could ever want from a stove. I hate electric stoves as a rule, but this glass top is the next best thing to a gas stove. Tonight, my family and I were watching a title fight on TV when we heard an explosion from the kitchen. It sounded like a bomb had gone off! Then we heard popping sounds, as if popcorn was popping. We went into the kitchen and saw that the outer glass door on the oven had exploded. There was glass all over the kitchen and the glass on the floor was jumping up and down and making popping noises for almost 20 minutes after the explosion.

The stove top had been used for 20 minutes, 3 hours prior to the explosion. The oven had not been used for approx. 3 months before the explosion. What can I say? I don't do a lot of baking. Both were at room temperature. In other words, as cold as a stove can get. We weren't present in the room when the explosion happened, fortunately. If anyone had been in the kitchen, they would have been seriously injured.

Still trying to get hold of GE to see what they are going to do or not do. Contacted the lemon law folks to see if they can help us. Our state has a lemon law for appliances, so that may help us some. Well. As everyone knows, GE has extremely limited telephone hours. I see where this kind of thing happens a lot with GE stoves. If I had known that, I would have never purchased a GE. Unfortunately, it sounds like GE is going to sing the "It has never happened to anyone else before" song with us, as they have with all of the other people I have read about. I'll keep you posted on how we do with GE fixing or not fixing the stove.

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Appliance Repair Rip-off

By PMike - 06/18/2009

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA -- On June 9, 2009, I had service for my GE side-by-side refrigerator, model number ZISW36DTB. The problem was ice in the freezer section, running down the sides. The technician came in, opened the door of the freezer and told me the unit needed an “ice kit”. After some discussion, he also added that it would be close to $900 for the repair. To say I was shocked is to put it mildly, and somewhat at a loss for words. After I paid him $100 for this information, and he departed, I began to think about the situation and did some research on the web.

My first complaint is that the technician did no diagnostic testing at all. The extent of his diagnosis was to look in the freezer and see that it has ice in it. He did absolutely nothing to locate the failing part. My second complaint is that it's unlikely all the parts in an “ice kit” are needed. In doing research on the web, I found that the ice tray heater (which seems like the most likely cause of the problem) is only about $60. Add $100 for labor to install it, and we're in the ball park of what I expected the repair to cost. Installing an “ice kit” is a scatter shot solution where you hope that if you change enough parts, one of them will be the failing part.

Now, GE may argue that it's “safer” to put a kit in because if one part failed, the others could also fail. But that's a choice for me to make, not for GE to force onto me. I may decide that if I can get another couple of years out of the refrigerator for $150, I'll do that and then buy a new one. I am highly dissatisfied with the service I received. Essentially, the technician did absolutely nothing. I described the problem when I ordered the service and could have been told at that time about the “ice kit”. There was certainly no need for the technician to have to look into the freezer to confirm what I had reported.

To add insult to injury, after the technician left, I defrosted the freezer with a hair dryer and so far, the ice has not returned. So perhaps the drain was clogged, or the door had been left ajar. So I could have paid $1,000 for nothing. It's clear the technician's focus was not in fixing my unit, but in maximizing the billing. Just a ripoff.

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Bad Customer Service

By vokinzer - 05/02/2008

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- I have a GE Spacemaker Microwave Oven, Model JVM1740DM1WW, Serial # VL900770 B since April 25, 2008. All of a sudden, in less than a year, on April 12, 2008 it has stopped working (no heating). On April 14 I called GE Appliances Customer Care Services at 800-432-2737 to schedule a service technician home visit for April 18. On this day a repair man came to detect a problem, and we needed to wait for a week for a part needed to be replaced.

A repairman has told my wife that somebody else should be at home at the time of the next visit in order to take the microwave down to the kitchen table. This part was ordered and delivered in a week, and we have been waiting for another week until April 25, when other two repairmen have come. On April 25, these two men made a lot of mess in the kitchen, could not repair the microwave, and told us that they needed another part to be delivered and replaced.

We have been waiting for another week until May 2. On this day, they finally have got some positive result, once again making a lot of mess in the kitchen, behaving very rudely and impolitely. One of the repairmen named Simon is a Russian speaking person, and my wife speaks Russian, and her English is not so well. She was trying to communicate with Simon in Russian, but he refused to do so, pointing at his mouth and making the "shh" gesture. He has pretended that he doesn't understand Russian at all.

My wife is a disabled person, and her native language is Russian. I had to take two days off at my own expense in order to help my non-English speaking wife to communicate with the Russian-speaking repairman, Simon. He is very rude and unapproachable. It is very difficult to call GE Consumer Relations Service because of very many options to go through the right person, and reach a manager or person in charge of GE Consumer Relations. This kind of customer service sucks!

Damage Resulting: the loss of two working days for waiting repairmen from GE Appliances. A lot of mess and dirt in the kitchen, because of using a kitchen table for fixing microwave. The waiting for three weeks for a microwave repair. Psychological damage and inconvenience caused by the situation. The repairmen did not leave any paper about their work. Conclusion: I will never ever buy anything made by GE, and do not recommend their products to anybody else.